Pakistani Taliban Announces One-Month Cease-Fire

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban says the group will observe a one-month cease-fire as part of efforts to negotiate a peace deal with the government.

Spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said in a statement emailed to reporters Saturday that the top leadership of the militant group has instructed all of its units to comply with the cease-fire.

The announcement comes as Pakistan has struck militant hideouts in the northwest with airstrikes in recent days after previous efforts at negotiations broke down when a militant faction announced it had killed 23 Pakistani troops.

The Pakistani Taliban has been trying to overthrow the government and establish its own hard-line form of Islam across Pakistan for years. Tens of thousands of people have died in militant attacks.